A Gentleman and a Thief, Dean Jobb
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

A Gentleman and a Thief
The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue

Author: Dean Jobb

Narrator: Mike Chamberlain

Unabridged: 10 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/25/2024

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper about "the greatest jewel thief who ever lived" (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed everyone from Rockefellers to members of the royal family while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the 1920s. 

“A master of narrative nonfiction. In this mesmerizing tale about a Jazz Age gentlemanly thief, Jobb has found his own perfect jewel.”
―DAVID GRANN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

“An enthrallingly propulsive, unpredictably twisty biography of one of the most fascinating criminals of the 20th Century.  I was hooked from the very first heist.”
―MICHAEL FINKEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Thief and The Stranger in the Woods

Catch Me If You Can meets The Great Gatsby meets the hit Netflix series Lupin in this captivating true-crime caper. A skilled con artist and perhaps one of the most charming, audacious burglars in history, Arthur Barry slipped in and out of the bedrooms of New York’s wealthiest residents, even as his victims slept only inches away. He befriended luminaries such as the Prince of Wales and Harry Houdini and became a folk hero, touted in the press as “the greatest jewel thief who ever lived” and an “Aristocrat of Crime.” In a span of seven years, Barry stole diamonds, pearls, and other gems worth almost $60 million today. Among his victims were a Rockefeller, an heiress to the Woolworth department store fortune, an oil magnate, Wall Street bigwigs, a top executive of automotive giant General Motors, and a famous polo player. Dean Jobb—hailed by Esquire magazine as “a master of narrative nonfiction”—once again delivers a stylishly told high-speed ride.

A Gentleman and a Thief is also a love story. Barry confessed to dozens of burglaries to protect his wife, Anna Blake (and was the prime suspect in scores of others). Sentenced to a twenty-five year term, he staged a dramatic prison break when Anna became seriously ill so they could be together for a few more years as fugitives. With dozens of historic images, A Gentleman and a Thief is page-turning, escapist, and sparkling with insight into our fascination with jewel heists and the suave, clever criminals who pull them off.
 

Author Bio

DEAN JOBB is the author of The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream, winner of the inaugural CrimeCon CLUE Award for true-crime book of the year and longlisted for the American Library Association’s Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. His previous books include Empire of Deception, which the New York Times Book Review called “intoxicating and impressively researched” and was named the Chicago Writers Association’s Nonfiction Book of the Year. Jobb has written for major newspapers and magazines including the Chicago Tribune, the Globe and Mail and the Irish Times, and was hailed by Esquire magazine as “a master of narrative non-fiction.” Dean Jobb is a professor in the master of fine arts in creative non-fiction program at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Reviews